Shoe



NOV. 2, 1943. LA CHAPELLE 2,333,257

SHOE

Filed Jan'. 14, 1942 4 will/I11; Q 10 J2 r' as J jfeizfi'ca 53231;:

m y M4? yw Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- SHOE Fred N. La Chapelle, Beverly, Mass, assignor to Sidney H. Huberman, Boston, Mass.

Claims.

This invention relates to shoes and more particularly to improvements in heels and nonmetallic heel fastening devices.

Objects of the present invention include the provision of special wooden heel-fastening pegs which are adapted to be driven into previously drilled holes through the heel and into the outsole of the shoe, said holes being formed alternately normal to the heel surface in the conventional manner, and every other hole being drilled at an angle to the normal, whereby the shoe pegs, when driven into the holes to fasten the heel to the outsole, will lie at angles to each other in such a manner as to prevent the detachment of the heel or of its laminations from the outsole; and the provision of a heel which is secured to an outsole by means of wooden pegs set at angles to each other through the heel and into the outsole, the material between the pegs tending to act similarly to a wedge to prevent separation of the heel from the shoe.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a rubber heel having headed wooden pegs imbedded therein with the shanks of the pegs extending outwardly from the surface of the heel to be applied to a shoe; the provision of a rubber heel having a plate imbedded therein with a series of wooden pegs extending through the plate outwardly of the heel, said pegs having heads adjacent the plate and imbedded in the heel; the provision of a rubber heel as aforesaid wherein the heads of the pegs are rounded on their under surfaces adjacent the plate so that the pegs may rock relative to the plate for a purpose to be described.

A further object of the invention resides in the pro-vision of a heel for a shoe, said heel having a series of drilled holes therethrough, said holes being arranged alternately at slight angles to each other to the end that pegs driven into said holes will follow the same to finally lie at angles to each other in the heel; the provision of a heel base having holes drilled therethrough, said holes being at angles to each other, for the reception of a heel having rockably mounted shoe pegs extending from a surface thereof, so that when the heel is applied to the heel base the rockable pegs will follow the angularly disposed holes to fasten the heel to the heel base by mutually angularly disposed pegs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying .drawing, in which Fig. l is a view in elevation and partly in secmy invention, as it would appear applied to an outsole;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view partly in section of a heel according to the construction of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view of a rubber heel according to a form of my invention; 1

Fig. i is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a shoe peg as it appears at an angle to the shoe peg disclosed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a shoe heel with a part of the lift removed showing another form of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a View in elevation of a shoe peg used in the construction of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a series of shoe pegs assembled preparatory to use.

In the shoe industry it is well recognized that it is desirable to avoid the use of nails in attaching heels to shoes, as the nail attachment is not satisfactory since many of the nails become distorted and fail to hold, and if sufficient nails are used to adequately secure a heel to an upper the number and weight of the nails is considered to be excessive. Reference is made to my patent application 422,112 filed December 8, 1941 showing a non-metallic fastener for a shoe heel.

The present application is concerned with the use of Wooden shoe pegs for attaching heels to shoes, whether a leather heel or a rubber heel is used. In the drawing the numeral It) indicates an outsole of a shoe to which a heel is to be attached, the insole being indicated by the numeral [2. The heel base may be made up of a number of laminations M of leather, paper, or other material, these laminations being glued together and to the outsole in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The heel base is positioned on the sole, and a series of holes are drilled through the heel base and into the outsole, it being preferred not to carry the holes into the insole. These holes extend around the periphery of the heel base as indicated in Fig 2 and alternate holes are drilled normal to the heel surface as usual. Each hole between the normal holes is drilled at a slight angle thereto starting, however, from a line passing through the centers of the normal holes, and the angled holes extend inwardly from adjacent the edge of the heel. These holes may be drilled by hand or by automatic machinery.

After the holes have been drilled, the heel base i l may be removed from the outsole, and a liquid adhesive may be brushed over the drilled surface of the outsole, so that some of the adhesive will flow down into the outsole holes. Thus adhesive is assured to be present in the outsole holes, and when the pegs are driven thereinto they will necessarily contact the adhesive in the outsole, After applying the adhesive, the heel base is reapplied to the outsole with the corresponding holes aligned.

With the heel base thus disposed on the outsole and the holes lying alternately normal to the heel as usual and at an angle thereto as above described, wooden shoe pegs such as those illustrated at IS in Fig. .6 are driven into the heels so that t e pegs will be guided byand lie in the holes in an arrangement similar to that shown in Fig. 5, wherein the numeral l8 represents conventional shoe pegs and indicates the angled shoe pegs. Pegs I6 will be desirably made with a diameter slightly larger than that of the holes,

especially in the outsole, wherein the hole may be made by a smaller drill, and the pegs should be impregnated with glue as for instance in the following manner: The pegs are cut from wooden rod stock and are provided with flat ends 22 and rounded ends 24. These pegs may be boiled in liquid glue which is desirably thinned by the addition of some acid in a weak solution such as vinegar. This action will impregnate the wood with the glue and when the pegs are dried a thin film of glue will be formed on the surfaces of the peg. Then thin paper strips 25 may be applied across series of pegs assembled in parallel sideby-side relation and the strips may be crimped as at 26 to form belts .of pegs of any length, such belts being capable of easy handling and separation for th pegging operation.

In the manufacture of shoes the leather 011tsole is moistened prior to the attachment of the heel so that a curve may be impressed in the leather to follow the bottom surface outline .of the human heel. When the glue impregnated pegs are driven into the heel base holes, the moisture in the leather will tend to dissolve the glue and strip the paper, also swelling the wood so that an extremely tight and firmly glued joint results.

The pegs are driven into the holes with their rounded ends 24 foremost so that the initial positioning of the pegs in the holes is rendered easier. However, when the rounded ends 24 contact the insole, or an anvil provided for the purpose, the wood of the peg may be crushed at the rounded end to form a flat and slightly thickened head adjacent the inner surface of the outsole, but

ordinarily the pegs will be of a length so as to stop just short of the ends of the holes. After the heel base laminations 14 have been secured to the upper, outsole, or other member, the lift '21 may be secured to the heel base by slugging it with short, straight wooden pegs 28 as shown in The above described construction provides a leather or paper heel which contains no metal whatever and will be securely held to the shoe by the wooden pegs H5 by reason of the glue, the swelling of the wood, and tight fit of the pegs, but most particularly by the wedging action occasioned by relative angled positions of the pegs themselves in the heel base and outsole. It will be apparent that if the heel base 14 is attempted to be pried from the outsole, there is no single angular direction in. which it may be removed without actually tearing the material of the heel base, or bending the pegs, and this eiTect is due to the relative angularity of the pegs. It will be noted from Fig. 5 that each angular peg 20 extends inwardly toward the center of the heel so that opposite pegs at the sides of the heel extend toward each other. nd by construction such oppositely positioned pegs are located in non-parallel relation not only with respect to normal pegs [8 but to themselves.

Referring now to Fig. 3, there is illustrated a rubber heel 30 into which has been moulded a thin perforated plate 32 which is undercut at its edges as at 34 to be held to the rubber body of the heel. Wooden pegs 36 extend through the p forations and these pegs are provided with heads 38 which are rounded on their 'undersides as at 40 adjacent the inward side of plate 32. The peg heads are also rounded on their outer sides as at 42 to provide a driving surface, and

the peg heads and plate 32 are all moulded in the rubber heel body in one operation during the .manufacture' h reo The rubber heel of Fig. 3 is particularly adapted to be applied to the heel base I4 in a single operation. Prior to application of the rubber heel, the heel base is drilled with alternate holes normal to the surfa e thereof.theh b ing at an ans e' hereto exactly s n. 1 18- Pegs 36 extend outwardly from plate 3.2 in parallel lat onship to ea h ot er and in tion to co spond with the ends of the drilled les i the heel base. Thus, with the c mplete heel as shown in Fig. :3, placed over the drllledheel base, each peg Will be aligned with the end of a hole, and due to the rounded ends of the pegs 36 it is easy to start the intheir corresponding holes merely by setting the heel on the heel base. When the heel been correctly positioned, high pressure is applied on the heel and pegsn are here d e i to t heel b s Am P e which has been positioned to enter an inclined hole, such as for instance i ustrated at 44 in Fi 1, will necessarily follow the direction of the hole Without dama i the peg or the heel; the u t is that vthe r unding of houlders on e n er sides of the pe s. these ro nd d h de s will form a rocking surface for the peg heads, the material of th ordina y ru b hee b ng cienztly soft opermit the sl gh dis o t n necessaw. it is to be noted ha as a mat er o a th angle of the pe s sh wn i 4 is somewhat exa gerated for the purpose of illustration so that only a very slight rockin movenrient of the peg heads :in the heel will be necessary a d as a matter of fact, the distortion occasioned thereby will aid in holding the pegs.

It will be een hatthe appl cation of the rubber heel to a heel basewill result in alternate normal and inclined fasteners as in the case of Fig. 5, and also the pegs may be impr nated with glue and made of a slightly larserdiameter than the holes as in the previous case. especially in the outsole, so that the whole resultant action is 'the same as above described with respect to the leather heel of Fig.4.

It will be .seen from the above that :1 118MB provided both leather and rubber heel construe, tions which contain no metal fasteners at all but which wiil .hold the :heel in position on the shoes as firmly as in the case of nails "because of the fact that each peg provides its own action as a'holding tor-cc whereas in a nailed heel a large percentage of the nails become bent in the driving thereof and thus have little or no holding effect. Also it will be seen that I have provided a reasonably inexpensive heel construction which '=is applicable both to leather and rubber heels and which completely avoids the necessity of using any metal fasteners, lnaddition the insole may be applied to the shoe after the heel is fastened, 1r desired, and therefore it series of pegs extending through the heel into 10 the outsole, certain of said pegs being located substantially normal to said heel and sole and certain other pegs located at an angle to said first named pegs.

2. A shoe as recited in claim 1 wherein the angular pegs extend towards the center of the heel away from its edges in a direction toward the outsole.

3. A shoe as recited in claim 1 wherein the angular pegs alternate with the normal pegs.

4. A rubber heel for a shoe comprising a rubber body, a series of pegs moulded into said body, said pegs being provided with heads within the heel and shanks extending outwardly therefrom, said heads having shoulders located generally at an angle to the shanks of the pegs.

5. A rubber heel comprising a thin perforated plate, pegs extending through said perforations, heads on said pegs, said heads having shoulders located generally on a curve relative to said plate, said plate and the heads of the pegs being moulded in said heel.

FRED N. LA CHAPELLE. 

